Culture belongs to the people living it.
Over coffee with Jo Lawrence-King, Lisa found herself thinking about company culture in New Zealand, the relationship between brand and culture, and who really drives culture within an organisation.
The first instinct is leadership. Leaders set the vision, define values, and make the big decisions. But a post by Michael Henderson offered another perspective worth sitting with.
Culture belongs to employees, not the business. It’s formed by the daily behaviours and decisions of every person in the organisation. Leadership can influence it. They don’t own it.
Leadership can shape the environment and set direction, but culture is ultimately created in everyday moments: how people behave, what they celebrate, how decisions get made, and how they treat each other.
Does your brand reflect the culture you have — or the culture you want people to believe you have?
Shared from LinkedIn
People don’t build relationships with brands.
They build relationships with people.
Yet somewhere along the way, businesses can start sounding less and less human.
The language gets polished. The personality disappears. Everything gets approved, perfected and played safe.
And suddenly, nobody sounds like anybody.
The brands we remember tend to do the opposite.
They have a point of view. They speak like real people. They make us laugh, think or feel something. They’re comfortable showing a little personality and occasionally a little imperfection.
Because people don’t expect brands to be perfect.
They want them to feel real and be authentic.
That means knowing who you are, having something to say and saying it in a way people actually understand.
It means showing the people behind the business.
Listening as much as talking.
And remembering there’s another human being on the other side of every ad, email, post and website visit.
Technology will keep changing how brands reach people.
But the bit that makes someone care?
That’s still human.
Sound human. Act human. Be remembered.
Lisa Gwynne reflects on leadership, culture, and the everyday actions that shape both.